


you got living to do (and i just want you to do it)

by lavi0123



Series: wake that spirit, i wanna hear it [1]
Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Aang Week 2021, Gen, Prompt 1: Laughter/Joy, and some loose worldbuilding, featuring a fire nation festival inspired by that once scene in tangled, title taken from wake up from jatp
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-21
Updated: 2021-02-21
Packaged: 2021-03-18 19:35:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,190
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29614392
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lavi0123/pseuds/lavi0123
Summary: Airbenders are encouraged to travel, taught from a young age the importance of seeing the world and experiencing everything possible. Of course, they aren’t actually allowed to travel until they earn their mastery tattoos.Aang, as with most things, is an exception to this rule.Or: Aang tags along with Gyatso to the Festival of Lights, learns about Roku, and makes a few friends of his own.
Relationships: Aang & Bumi & Kuzon (Avatar), Aang & Gyatso (Avatar)
Series: wake that spirit, i wanna hear it [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2175876
Comments: 16
Kudos: 29
Collections: nice fics





	you got living to do (and i just want you to do it)

The first thing an airbender learns in their life is how to be _free_.

Airbenders are encouraged to travel, taught from a young age the importance of seeing the world and experiencing everything possible. Of course, they aren’t actually _allowed_ to travel until they earn their mastery tattoos, but by then, they’ve taken enough field trips to the different Temples and heard enough stories about the other Nations to have an idea.

Aang, as with most things, is an exception to this rule.

“Thanks for letting me come along, Monk Gyatso!” 8-year-old Aang chirps. “I promise I won’t be a bother!”

“Oh, Aang,” Gyatso murmurs, squeezing his hand. “You could never be a bother.”

They’re in the Fire Nation, where Gyatso has come to watch the Festival of Lights. It takes place on the eve of the summer solstice, the most powerful day of the year for firebenders, and Gyatso ignores the ache in his chest at remembering the first person to bring him to this festival. They’re here a little later than they should be, but Gyatso has seen this festival enough times to know it by heart, and he always had more fun exploring the stalls anyhow.

“Monk Gyatso?”

“Yes, Aang?”

“What are we celebrating?”

That stops Gyatso in his tracks, and he turns to see Aang’s eyes tracking the sky, lit by lanterns that look almost like stars from down here.

He hums, considering his pupil’s question. “This festival,” he says, “is a celebration of life, Aang. Have I ever told you what fire represents to its benders?” Aang shakes his head, and he continues. “Life. Love. All the passionate emotions we as humans feel so deeply that they almost ignite a fire in us. For firebenders, that is very much literal.”

Aang considers this, turning this over in his mind, before saying, “The monks always said we shouldn’t feel too deeply, or we might lose ourselves.”

“In a sense, they’re correct. Passion is very important to keep us human, but you must never lose sight of who you are and what you value. Fire can be beautiful and give warmth, but it can also destroy–it depends on who you are at your center.”

Aang winces at that. “But they’d never hurt us, right? These firebenders...they’re nice!”

“They are,” Gyatso assures, squeezing Aang's hand. “I’ve never met one willing to do me harm. In fact, I had a friend once, in the Fire Nation.”

“You did?” Aang perks up. “Who was it?”

“His name was Roku.” Gyatso smiles to think of his friend, bittersweet as his memory is now. “He came to visit the Air Temples for a while, and as much as I taught him about our culture, he taught me about his. He was actually the first one to bring me to this festival, years ago.”

Aang bounces up and down, beaming from ear to ear. “Did he tell you what the lanterns mean? They’re so pretty!”

“I’m sorry we missed the lighting,” Gyatso murmurs with a soft smile. “They’re truly beautiful when they’re sent skyward. I’ll bring you next year, Aang, and we’ll watch them be lit together.

“But as to your question, they represent the love of each firebender, coming together to light the sky. The positive potential of firebending. The Firelord lights the first one, and everyone follows suit, from the royals, to the nobles, to the common citizens. It is a gift, and a promise that the Nation is stronger united.”

“Whoa,” Aang whispers, his eyes roaming skyward again, almost alight with fire themselves. “Fire really is beautiful.”

Gyatso tries not to think of Aang maneuvering flame with the grace of a man twice his age.

_No. Not now. He has time until then._

“It is,” he says instead, offering a hand to Aang. “Shall we move on?”

Aang, being young and joyful, is eager to see everything, and Gyatso would expect nothing less. Aang has always been a little more airbender than even some of the other monks–not that he would ever say so. He lets Aang drag him from booth to booth, watching the fire dancers and the fire breathers and eating food so hot steam bursts from his ears...

It’s familiar in a bittersweet way, and Gyatso is suddenly glad that he brought Aang with him.

“–telling you, Bumi, this is a _sacred_ festival! You can’t just–”

“And _I’m_ telling _you_ , that, sacred or not, what’s life without a little _risk_?”

The boy with neat jet-black hair and golden eyes huffs. “I’m not saying you can’t–”

“ _We_ can’t,” the other boy, with wild brown hair and sparkling brown eyes–Bumi, apparently–corrects with a smirk.

“– _we_ can’t,” the first boy allows, smiling briefly. “I’m saying that we have to be _careful_. It won’t do either of us any good if we get caught and grounded for the rest of our lives.”

“Ha! Speak for yourself, Mr. _Nobleson_.”

“Bumi, I swear–”

“Hi!” Aang greets cheerfully, already bounding forward before Gyatso can stop him–though, in fairness, Gyatso doesn’t really make an attempt. “What’re you guys talking about?”

The boys look at him, then each other, then back at him. Bumi is the first to grin widely.

“Hey, you’re airbenders! We’ve heard a lot about you, Kuzon and I–”

“Bumi, take a breath,” Kuzon teases before smiling and holding his hands in the flame to greet them. “I’m Kuzon. This ball of hyperactive energy over here is my friend Bumi.

“I’m Aang,” Aang says with a grin. “It’s good to meet you, Kuzon and Bumi!”

“You too!” Bumi cheers. “Yes, finally, another kid our age! Wanna come cause mischief with us?”

“Bumi!” Kuzon protests, scandalized as he glances up at Gyatso. But Gyatso just smiles, familiar enough with the antics of children to be unruffled by the display.

“Well, Aang?” He prompts the child. “Would you like to go with them for a bit?”

“Can I?” When Gyatso nods, Aang cheers, running to Gyatso and catching him in a tight hug. “Thankyouthankyouthankyou!”

Gyatso hugs him back with nothing but warmth. “You’re very welcome. Now go on, but be careful, you three! Don’t hurt yourselves.”

Aang runs back to the two boys, and Bumi calls, “We will!”

“We’ll be careful, that is!” Kuzon calls back, blushing slightly. “We won’t get hurt!”

“Famous last words!” Bumi crows, ignoring the indignant squawk of his Fire Nation friend, grabbing Aang’s hand. “Come on, Aang!”

As he watches, Kuzon takes the boy’s other hand, and Gyatso can just catch him saying, “If you don’t wanna do any of this, just say the word.”

“Are you kidding?” Aang grins. “This is why I came in the first place–to have fun and make friends!”

Gyatso smiles as he watches them go, the spark in their eyes reminding him of another Fire Nation boy, not too long ago, always with a teasing grin and a plan for mischief in his head.

_I miss you every day, old friend. But you live on in him, though he doesn’t know it yet._

And if Gyatso has it his way, Aang won’t know for a long time.

**Author's Note:**

> Here we go, kicking off Aang Week with something Gyatso-centric! He's a very underrated character imo, and I like the idea of viewing Aang from the lens of an outsider (because he really brightens the lives of everyone he meets!)
> 
> Sorry this one was a little short–I rushed it out, so it isn't as polished as I would like! But hopefully you still enjoyed it.
> 
> I also tried to capture what I think Kuzon and Bumi were like–Bumi being more mischievous and blasé, and Kuzon also being a trickster but aware of the rules of society (I imagine he's a noble's son). But don't make the mistake of assuming Kuzon is any less down for pranks than Bumi! His pranks are just more carefully planned, so they're less likely to get them all caught.
> 
> Let me know what you guys think! I'm excited to write some Aang-centric fics this week as I chip away at my long Bumizumu fic XD


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